In 2005, she formed the country music duo The Wreckers with friend and fellow musician Jessica Harp, and produced the Grammy-nominated single "Leave the Pieces". The Wreckers disbanded in 2007 to pursue their respective solo careers. Since then, she released extended plays in 2010 and 2011, and is reportedly working on another studio album.[2]

Contents

Life and career1

1983–2000: Early life and Broken Bracelet1.1

2001–04: The Spirit Room1.2

2003–05: Hotel Paper1.3

2005–07: The Wreckers1.4

2008-12: Unreleased albums1.5

2013–present: New album1.6

Musical style and influence2

Personal life3

Discography4

Filmography5

Awards and nominations6

Grammy Awards6.1

MTV Video Music Awards6.2

Teen Choice Awards6.3

Other awards6.4

References7

External links8

Life and career

1983–2000: Early life and Broken Bracelet

Branch was born on July 2, 1983, in Sedona, Arizona,[1][3][4] to David and Peggy Branch, six months after they were married.[5] Her father is Irish, and her mother is of Dutch-Indonesian ("Indo") and French descent.[5][6] Her siblings include an older half-brother named David and a younger sister named Nicole.

Branch in August 2003.

Beginning to sing at the age of three, Branch enrolled in voice lessons at Northern Arizona University when she was eight,[5][7][8] and received her first guitar for her fourteenth birthday.[3][4][8] After teaching herself chords, she composed her first song "Fallen" within a week of receiving her guitar.[9] She initially attended Sedona Red Rock High School,[7] but finished the last two years of her high school education through home schooling so that she could focus on her music career.[8] To support Branch's interests, her parents helped her book local gigs in Sedona, Arizona, and later financed her independent album Broken Bracelet.[8] Her set list at these gigs included covers of songs by Sheryl Crow, Lisa Loeb, Jewel, and Fleetwood Mac.[9]

In December 1999, she posted two of her songs on the Rolling Stone website, which caught the attention of both pop rock band Hanson and former Rolling Stone writer and Los Angeles record producer Jeff Rabhan, eventually leading to two gigs opening for Hanson in 2000.[5]

In June 2000, Branch self-produced Broken Bracelet,[5] a compilation of songs she wrote when she was 14 and 15;[6] the album was released on the independent record label Twin Dragon Records.[5][6] Its title was inspired from a bracelet made by pop singer Jewel, given to Branch by musician Steve Poltz at a Lisa Loeb concert she attended. Poltz told Branch that "when it breaks, you'll be famous."[5] The Broken Bracelet recordings were destroyed in the Nashville floods in May 2010.[10]

2001–04: The Spirit Room

In 2001, Branch signed a recording deal with Maverick Records,[5][6][8] where she began working with John Shanks to produce her first album and major-label debut.[11] The album, The Spirit Room, was released in August 2001,[6][11] producing the hit single "Everywhere." The single was a commercial success, winning the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards Viewer's Choice Award.[12] "Everywhere" was later followed by singles "All You Wanted" and "Goodbye to You." In August 2001, she appeared on Total Request Live after "Everywhere" reached No. 4 on their charts. Due to the mainstream success of those released singles, The Spirit Room was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA for selling over two million copies in the United States. Michelle also sang in Hanson's 2004 album, Underneath in the song, "Deeper". VH1 released Branch's Pop-Up Video for her song "All You Wanted".

2005–07: The Wreckers

In July 2005, Branch began collaborating with her backup singer and longtime friend Jessica Harp.[4][20][21][22] They were initially known as "The Cass County Homewreckers" as a joke by Branch's husband,[23] but they trimmed it down to The Wreckers.[20] Their album attempted to combine their respective genres—pop rock and country. It was originally slated for release in June 2005 but was delayed because of reasons surrounding Branch's pregnancy.[4] The duo's first single "Leave the Pieces" was released in February 2006, while their album Stand Still, Look Pretty was released in May.[20]

2008-12: Unreleased albums

Branch performing in August 2009.

Branch in August 2009.

Immediately thereafter, Branch wrote an unreleased song for Mandy Moore's 2007 album Wild Hope,[26] and also wrote "Together" for the soundtrack of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2; it was also featured as the final song ever played on the CBS TV soap opera, Guiding Light. In October 2007, she announced that she was working on a new solo album and later reported the title would be Everything Comes and Goes.[3] In June 2008, she played several live shows in preparation for the album's release with her sister Nicole singing backing vocals.

In early 2009, she sang the song "I Lose My Heart" in a duet with Chris Isaak on his new album Mr. Lucky.[27] A video for the first single from the album "Sooner Or Later" was released on July 28, 2009. Also in 2009, she recorded "A Case of You" (originally by Joni Mitchell) for the compilation Covered, A Revolution in Sound which commemorated Warner Bros. Records 50th anniversary.[28] A video was made for the song "This Way" and uploaded to Branch's official YouTube account in October 2009,[29] but it was not released as a single and did not chart. (The video was included on a limited edition DVD entitled The Video Anthology available on michellebranch.com.)[30]Everything Comes and Goes was finally released as a six-track extended play on July 16, 2010, via Branch's website and would be available at all retailers one month later.[31] In 2010, Branch and R&B/hip-hop producer Timbaland collaborated on a pop/R&B song entitled "Getaway" and released a video.[32]

In December 2010, Branch announced her return to her pop/rock roots for her new album,[33] which is titled West Coast Time.[34] In early 2011, Branch released three previously unreleased songs from Everything Comes and Goes including, "Texas In the Mirror", "Take a Chance on Me", and "Long Goodbye", the latter a duet with Dwight Yoakam. On March 22, 2011 in a video regarding updates on the third studio album uploaded via Branch's YouTube account, Branch confirmed that half the album is finished and added that "it's sounding really really good....it's all going well and it's all on time."[35] On April 14, 2011 it was announced that Branch had finished recording the album, she also added that "only mixing/mastering left. Michelle practiced and recorded a few tracks with Tilted Head and FIVE lead singer Joshua Barton, however it is still a work in progress."[36] On May 26, 2011, Branch hosted a live webchat with fans in which she previewed her new single "Loud Music", which was released to the iTunes Store on June 14, 2011. The song was co-written and produced by British writers Jim Irvin and Julian Emery who collaborated with Michelle on several songs on the album. In the webcast, Branch also mentioned songs on the album called "Mastermind" and "The Story Of Us" and also added that "Through The Radio" would be a hidden track on the CD. In a previous webcast, she premiered a song from the album called "Spark." During a live outdoor performance at the Warner Brothers building she performed another new song, dedicated to her then-husband Teddy Landau, "For Dear Life". In June 2011, she released the album's first single titled "Loud Music." It has charted on the Adult Pop Songs chart. On July 12, 2011, Branch performed "God Bless America" at the MLB All-Star Game, in Phoenix, Arizona. In September, a new song "Another Sun" was featured on Fox's TV series Terra Nova.[37] On October 29, 2011, she gave a small concert to approximately 200 fans at the Egyptian Room in downtown Indianapolis, as part of the Gravedigger's Ball. On December 12, 2011, Branch released a song titled "If You Happen to Call" for free download on the official website.[38]

In February 2012, VH1 hosted the "100 Greatest Women In Music" special and she was nominated in both the "Pop" category and the "Greatest Female Artist of All Time". On April 3, 2012, Michelle Branch performed "Leave the Pieces" with Kelly Clarkson in Los Angeles as part of Clarkson's "Stronger Tour." On September 5, the singer premiered new pop-rock track "Mastermind"[39] In September 2012, Michelle Branch joined Chef Michael Mina as a co-host of Cook Taste Eat, an online cooking show that aims to teach viewers how to cook quality food at home.[40]

As with her previous album, Everything Comes and Goes, West Coast Time has seen numerous delays for, as yet, unknown reasons. Branch has confirmed on her Twitter that she knows as much as the fans do about this. In January 2011, Branch confirmed in an interview with Katie Krause from Hollywire.com that the album would be released later that year.[41] On June 1, 2011, Branch announced that the album is called West Coast Time and slated for a September 2011 release date. On December 25, 2012, Branch confirmed that West Coast Time was scheduled for release in Spring 2013, but the album has not yet been released.[42][43]

2013–present: New album

For much of 2013, Branch has been writing songs and moving on from the unreleased West Coast Time. On November 5, 2013, Branch announced that she has started recording a new album in London with Martin Terefe.[44] On February 2, 2014 she confirmed on Twitter that the rest of the album will be recorded in Nashville for a pop-rock sound. In October 2014, she recorded a cover of Radiohead's Creep which was subsequently used in an episode of Stalker (TV series). [45]

Personal life

Branch married her bass player Teddy Landau in Mexico on May 23, 2004,[3][20][50] and gave birth to a girl named Owen Isabelle on August 3, 2005.[51] Branch separated from Landau in 2014.[52] She filed for divorce the following year. [53]

^(November 26, 2002). "Early family lifestyle influences rock band: Although the teen group justincase can cite many musical influences on their career, one of the strongest is from their tight family and the music they heard at home", Charlottetown Guardian, p. C6.

^Print Email This (2009-04-30). "Band Name Stories: The Wreckers". The Boot. Retrieved 2010-08-31.

^) house in Calabasas, CA for $2.94M; now lives in Nashville, TN"2"Singer, songwriter and guitarist Michelle Branch sells her five-bedroom, 5,296-square-foot (492.0 m. Big Time Listings. November 7, 2007. Archived from the original on January 8, 2008. Retrieved February 5, 2008.

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